Library Director Alice Meacham announces plan at library’s annual festival, points to 36% reduction over prior plan’s approach.
Stony Point, NY – Rose Memorial Library Association has unveiled a bold, methodical plan to construct a new library building on East Main Street, as well as expand the core matrix of services to better serve the 14,000 residents of Stony Point.
The new plan aims to address the community’s needs with a more cost-effective approach than a prior 2022 ballot proposal. This proposal is currently reported to command a 36% savings on project costs, compared to the previous proposal. The announcement to rebuild and expand was made during the library’s 2nd Annual Summer Fun Festival on June 22nd, in Charles C. Eccher Park.
The existing Rose Memorial library building, which was built in 1949 and has not seen significant updates since the 1960s, is no longer size-adequate for the growing population of Stony Point, currently estimated at approximately 14,800. “It breaks my heart that we have not been able to provide the residents of Stony Point with the appropriate, modern facilities and library services they deserve,” said Alice Meacham, Director of Rose Memorial Library Association. “This library has all the potential to be the vibrant, bustling heart at the center of this community, and this carefully developed plan provides what is needed to make that happen.”
North Rockland Chamber of Commerce Secretary Tom Ossa added in his opinion via email after the event, stating “Look, I started one of my businesses in that library, in 2007. It’s still up and running, and works great with my second company. But if it wasn’t for what I learned in my spare time in that little library, I would be nowhere near where I am today in terms of my life path, connection to the community, all that. That’s an opportunity that every generation in this Town should have access to, and this Director’s approach looks like it can accomplish that. So count my vote as yes.”
According to the library at the time of this writing – the comprehensive plan includes demolishing the current building at 79 E Main Street – and constructing a new, 10,000 square foot facility on the same site. This approach, according to the Director’s extensive research and consultations, is the most cost-effective solution. The new building will feature extended hours, increased capacity for programs, and enhanced physical and digital resources, ensuring it meets the diverse and varied needs of a tight-knit community.
Highlights of the new library proposal include:
- A fully accessible and sustainably designed 10,000 square foot building:
- A teen room dedicated to the needs of teenagers, staffed by a full-time teen librarian
- A large meeting room for programs, events, and community meetings
- Separate spaces for quiet work, group study, and comfortable reading
- An all-ages experiential learning studio for arts, cooking, play-based learning, science, technology, and engineering programs
- As is in the current library – space for a local history archive
- A garden for small programs, gatherings, and reading
- A children’s room with an early literacy play space and garden view
- Study rooms for public use
- Increased sustainability measures for maximum energy efficiency
- Increased physical resources, programming, special events, security, and staffing
- Temporary space rental during construction
- Extended library hours
“In my 55 years as a resident of the town,” said Dick Eggers, Treasurer of Rose Memorial Library Board of Trustees, “I find it almost unimaginable that we were never able to have a library expand in consort with our growing population. We are now presenting our neighbors with an opportunity to build a library facility on par with others in Rockland County.”
The budget for the new building is set at $6,073,000, which is $3.4 million less than the previous project proposal. This significant reduction is expected to alleviate concerns from residents about the overall costs. In a prior referendum that the library attempted, numerous established community leaders and residents took pause to investing in a project that would cost taxpayers nearly $10 million dollars. The project, which involved purchasing a separate building (117 W Main Street, 2022) had many of the same amenities as listed above, but sticker shock and worry about ongoing maintenance costs became a sticking point during both public and private discussions in the neighborhood.
This time, Director Alice Meacham said that she decided to listen to the residents’ concerns from the last effort, and focus on the “many strengths of the current library”, simply expanding them in the same location – but newly renovated from the ground up.
According to her current research and estimates, as well as documentation that is to be provided to the community, the approach is reported to save over $3 million dollars from the prior approach. “It safeguards the purpose of this library for the next generation, as should be every generation: To give our residents the power to learn for themselves.”
The Rose Memorial Library Association is finalizing the overall funding request, which will include moving costs and post-construction operations. The funding request will be announced in the next two weeks and will be subject to a public vote. The first step in this process is collecting and submitting 25 valid signatures from Stony Point voters by August 5, 2024, to qualify for the ballot.
The funding referendum will then be placed before voters on November 5, 2024.
For more information and updates on this project, visit rosememorialibrary.org and follow Rose Memorial Library Association’s social media channels.